Octavo Systems unveiled their OSD3358 System-in-Package (SiP) in 2016 with the package integrating TI Sitara AM3358 Arm Cortex-A8 SoC, 256 to 512MB memory, PMIC, LDO and passive components into a single package. The SiP is notably found in the $25 PocketBeagle board, which only adds a micro SD card slot, a micro USB port, and a few passive components to the PCB.

PocketBeagle Board

The company has now gone further by also adding an eMMC flash and an oscillator to their OSD335x C-SiP. That means another version of PocketBeagle could potentially be made without the micro SD card, using the eMMC flash in the SiP instead, and adding an oscillator – missing in PoketBeagleBone – necessary to use low power modes and RTC wake-up.

The main benefits of the SiP over designing your own with separate components include the potential for smaller design, lower PCB cost, low development costs, faster time to market, and easier procurement since you won’t need to handle RAM and eMMC flash purchases. The BoM cost will however be higher than rolling your own. The company also talked to LinuxGizmos and explained Cortex-A8 was still popular for industrial use cases and the community, and also mentioned planning for a SiP also adding wireless connectivity, as well as SiPs based on processor from other silicon vendors.

The first OSD335x C-SiP comes with a Sitara AM3358 SoC, 512MB DDR3 and 4GB eMMC, with the commercial and industrial temperature range offered for respectively $35 and $39.65 per unit for 1k orders. Other models with different memory & storage capacities will be launched in 2019. You’ll find more details in the product page.